#and this sideblog isn't about looks

[pearl-kite]

Hard year for drawing ideas, so I redrew this old one of Gale and Claire from 2009:

Proportions have improved drastically in the intervening years

[hellisntreal]

a confession of the only error that remains to a Fool: faith.

(Mr Barleycorn and The Halved for @moonstruck-stormy)

[artsandstoriesandstuff]

A Murray for the one (no, two... no, one) other Murray fan(s) out there!! :)

[sisterdragonwithfeathers]

in the trenches fighting for my life against this perfectly normal not particularly hard piece of slightly-more-detailed-than-usual art

[miallurk]

In these days i realized i like art and writing and creating and shopping and taking walks and talking to people and cleaning and helping and studying and doing things but i'm just. too stressed, tired and burned out to do them. How great!

[zahai]

Is this a sideblog by chance?

Indeed it is. It used to be used as a primary blog, and I did intend to use it with at least some purpose even after I shifted my attention, but now it's just kinda mindless spam/things I find cool but don't have the spoons or words to give more attention to.

[solasuperbia]

Just a heads up, if I get an anon IC as Vash and it doesn't include a url, I'm just going to delete it. Thanks!

[eyrieofsynapses]

Okay, fact-check: first, it's not a post-conviction meeting, it's a pre-sentencing interview. This has been covered by both USA Today and Politifact. Second, as shitty as Trump is, I can't find any information stating that the drug test is mandatory. This particular claim also isn't substantiated by any fully credible news outlets; it was initially started, as far as I can tell, by Newsweek, which isn't known for reliability. It looks like Stephen Colbert cracked a joke about it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, at least according to a New York Times article (I know not everyone has access, sorry! But I can't find it anywhere else right now):

"“Unlike the vast majority of felons out there, Trump was allowed to do his interview at Mar-a-Lago over a video conference call. Must make the mandatory drug test kind of difficult — hard to get the pee right into the USB port.” — STEPHEN COLBERT"

But, well--comedian. I respect Colbert, but that doesn't mean he fact-checks all his jokes.

However: credible sources (including Reuters, Axios, CBS) are reporting that Trump's pre-sentencing interview occurred via Zoom last Monday on June 10th, which means that if you believe that a drug test is mandatory, you could could draw the conclusion that Trump got around it by not having to attend in person. This is probably how Newsweek came up with it. The actual sentencing isn't until July 11th, by the way.

Re: pre-sentencing interviews:

"A Judge uses a pre-sentence report to help decide the defendant’s punishment for the crime. The pre-sentence report is made by probation officers. The report is made after the conviction and before the date for Sentencing in felony and serious misdemeanor cases. A probation officer (or a social worker or psychologist working for the probation department) interviews the defendant and checks the defendant’s criminal record."

(Source: "Pre-Sentencing Report" from nycourts.gov; there's some more info worth reading too)

I can't find any government websites that cover requirements for drug testing in pre-sentence reports, but I did find an article from a law firm:

"Since the judge can request additional information, they may order a presentence investigation drug test. It’s especially likely when the crime was a drug-related offense."

(Source: "What Is a PSI Report? – Who Writes a Federal PSI & How Is It Used?" from kretzerfirm.com)

As far as I can tell, drug testing can be mandatory in a pre-sentence report, but the judge has to order it specifically. Trump's case doesn't deal with drugs directly or indirectly.

This does not mean that the power to request drug tests isn't abused by judges, nor does it mean that it isn't used to discriminate against defendants. Stay angry about that, because it's fucking wrong and we need to raise awareness to fix the system.

The spread of this claim means that some people on the left are starting to twist the facts, though, which hurts credibility and gives the right-wingers ammo.

What we need to be talking about in regards to Trump's trials is that he hasn't even been sentenced yet. Convicted, yes, but his sentencing isn't due until July 11th. And remember, this is only the Stormy Daniels case--it's not the two election interference cases (one federal, one from Georgia) or the classified documents case. (The Supreme Court gets to decide on whether he can be prosecuted for federal election interference, by the way.) None of them have set trial dates. They may not even go to trial until just before, if not long after, the November election. This case is a black mark on his reputation, but he's also using it to claim martyrdom to his base, and it's not that big in the grand scheme of things.

Look: this sentencing isn't going to do much when it comes to keeping Trump out of office, if anything at all. We can still keep him out, but we're gonna have to work for it. Keep talking about the other cases. Keep voting blue. And don't spread misinformation, because you can't fight effectively when you don't know the facts.

Everyone needs to bring this up. Every TV appearance needs this question answered.

Why is Trump allowed to skip a mandated drug test?

[corpseofsuturedseams]

yk im down for being strange and enjoying horror and whatever whatever whatever. but i do think it's a bit far to tag all of your original posts with stuff telling the reader to kill themselves and that nothing is real and other such things. maybe, just maybe, we should be nice to people who struggle with their connections to reality

[navybrat817]

Why isn't Bucky waking me up to have his way with me?

I wish I had the answer, nonnie!

Slip Inside

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Summary: Bucky can't resist having you when he comes home.

Word Count: Over 1.5k

Warnings: Explicit sexual content, unprotected vaginal sex, somnophilia (at first), established relationship, pet names, possessive behavior, slight feels (it's me, okay?), lovesick and needy Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?).

A/N: I can't send Bucky, but here you lovelies go! ❤️Not beta read and written on my phone, so any and all mistakes are my own. Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

Bucky wasn't meant to be home until tomorrow. He almost called to let you know he’d be back a day early, but it was late and he didn't want to disturb your slumber. Imagining the happy look in your eyes when you woke up beside him brought a smile to his face. Being loved by you was something he still couldn't believe was real some days, but he knew in the depths of his soul that you would always be his girl.

“Welcome home,” he whispered to himself when he saw you in bed, a sight for sore eyes.

He kept his gaze on you as he undressed, careful not to make any noise. You had an arm draped over the pillow next to you, the one he usually rested his head on. His heart raced as he took a step closer and gently pulled the blanket away, your body barely covered by the shirt he recently bought for you. Shivering slightly, you tried to curl in on yourself, but stilled quickly.

Like you knew he was watching you.

“I love you,” he breathed into the room.

You replied with a moan and rubbed your hand against the pillow.

You were beautiful when you slept. If you asked him, you were gorgeous all the time. A breathless kind of vision that he grew to appreciate more and more each day. But you weren't like a piece of art for him to just admire. You were the type of beauty meant to be appreciated.

And he gladly did so with his hands, mouth, and cock.

Oh, he loved you. Fuck, he needed you, too. It was an ache. A hunger. Awake, asleep, it didn't matter as long as he had you. And you were understanding enough to let him take what he needed.

“Mine,” he whispered.

Bucky quickly took the opportunity to slip into the bed and spoon you from behind. Your steady breathing grounded him in a sense while awakening the beast he kept at bay. The one that wanted to come out and play. One that needed to bury himself deep and keep you full.

If you were awake, he would've turned your head to kiss you nice and slow, unrushed even with the mounting desperation. Instead he rubbed his nose and scruffy chin at the juncture between your neck and shoulder, breathing in the distinctly sweet scent of you while wanting to leave his claim. That no one else could touch or have you. That you were his.

“You're mine,” he growled lowly.

Rubbing the inside of your thigh once he pushed your shirt up enough, he heard your breathing hitch. He wasn't ready for you to wake up just yet, but it didn't keep him moving his hand higher and grasping the elastic of your underwear. He debated tearing the offending fabric off, but he couldn't fault you for wearing them.

You didn't know he'd come home tonight.

He also thought about touching you through your panties to feel you squirm under his touch. Your whines and whimpers always made his cock twitch, especially when you soaked the fabric. Sometimes he liked to shove them in your mouth so you could taste yourself and know he was the one who did that to you.

Only him.

He brushed his lips along your skin as he pulled it down, almost wishing he was in front of you so he could look down and see your exposed pussy. “Mine,” he whispered again as his fingers parted your folds and skimmed over your clit.

You moved back against him with a sigh, enticing him without even trying. Alternating between teasing the bundle of nerves and your slit, he felt his own breathing get heavier and harsh with each passing second. By the time he brought his fingers to his mouth to lick your juices away, his cock was hard and heavy with the need to sink into your dripping cunt. He grunted as your flavor exploded on his tongue. He was done with foreplay.

And with how you panted and writhed, you were ready for him.

He hooked your leg over his thick thigh to open you up, hoping it wouldn't hurt when you stretched around him. “I love you,” he said once more as he brushed the tip of his cock against your hole, sighing as he slowly filled you up.

He had to close his eyes and hide his face in your neck to keep from losing it. He could go for hours when he wanted to, but the feel of your warm wetness gripping him like a vice was almost too much. Finishing quickly or not didn't matter. You’d take it as a compliment if your sweet cunt made him empty himself inside you so fast.

But he had to make it last and make you come first.

With a deep breath, he got himself under control. You let out the sweetest whine when he almost pulled out completely and shoved himself back in. Curled around you, all you could do was take his deep thrusts. He could've breathed through his nose and tried to stay quiet. He could’ve gone slow and steady. But he moaned and nipped at your skin, not wanting to hide his desire for you.

He couldn't see your face, but he felt you roll your hips back as you began to stir and heard another whine escape. You weren't completely awake, but your body craved what he was doing to you. It was enough for him to roll you on your stomach and quicken his pace.

“Bucky?” You mumbled.

“Sorry, sweetheart. I couldn't resist. Your pussy’s too good,” he groaned, putting a hand to the back of your neck to hold you still. “I need you. Need to feel you come on my cock.”

You fluttered around him as he stretched over your back, forcing you to take every inch of him. Your body went pliant as you let out a tired and needy moan. If you wanted him to stop, you would’ve told him to do so. “Please,” you whined as he practically rutted into you.

“I got you,” he grunted, driving harder into you as your fingers twisted in the sheets. “Missed you. Missed you so fucking much. Might need to keep my cock in you all night.”

You trembled, both of you knowing you’d lay there and let him fuck you all night if he asked. You were so good for him. And greedy. It would be wrong of him not to give you what you longed for.

“And you'll let me fill you up, won't you? Of course, you will,” he panted against your ear. You tried to arch your back, but his massive frame overpowered you. “It’s okay. Just take it. Let me have you.”

Fucking you raw was a gift he’d selfishly continue to ask for and take. But how could he not? You always let out the prettiest sounds when he flooded your holes.

He couldn't stop himself from shoving his hand between the mattress and your body, seeking out your clit to tip you over the edge. Moans poured from you as he lightly pinched it, giving you the push you needed. “That’s it. Come on my cock. My cock. My good girl,” he encouraged as you clamped around him hard enough for him to lose his breath.

You nearly cried as he took you apart. “Bu… Bucky…”

“Trembling around my cock. Greedy girl,” he moaned, his hips snapping faster as he brought his mouth back to your ear. “My turn.”

He let out a deep groan as he stilled, filling you. His release hit him so hard his head spun, muttering his love for and possession of you as his eyes fluttered. You let out a broken moan as you clenched around him again and he had to keep from collapsing against you, both of you fighting for air.

“Love you,” he mumbled, wanting you to hear it now that you were awake.

He only pulled out so he could move you to your back and desperately kiss your lips the way he needed to, pushing himself back inside your leaking hole with a hum. Your eyes were half-lidded when he broke the kiss. Your gaze made him want to ruin you all over again.

“Love you, too,” you croaked, your back bowing when he groped your breast through the shirt. “Welcome home.”

Bucky’s heart pounded as he leaned down to kiss you again. It was a dance of tongue and teeth, dizzying and passionate. Some days you were the fire and others you were the fuel. You accepted the entirety of him and he welcomed everything you selflessly gave him in return.

“Good to be home, baby,” he smirked, brushing his thumb along your covered nipple. “Now stay awake. I need to fill you up at least two more times before the sun comes up.”

Even after that, he wasn't close to being done with you. But he was whole because he was home with you. And that would always be enough.

We deserve this, okay? Love and thanks for reading! ❤️

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[jaskierx]

republic of pirates dashboard simulator

thanks to @sherlockig for the screencaps 💕

part 2

👃ilostmynoseatspanishjackiez Follow

has anyone else heard this rumour that @managainstbeast is actually blackbeard's alt account??

🎣managainstbeast

that's ridiculous, please stop spreading this, fishermen and pirates are nothing alike and my beard isn't even black

#ffs #posts from the fishing boat

2,037 notes

🇸🇪officialswede

i got tagged by @iamsteakknife to share my top 3 types of fruit :)

oranges

more oranges

enough oranges to never get scurvy again

tagging all of jackie's other husbands and also @bloodbucketbill 💕 (no pressure guys)

#tag game #cw scurvy

7 notes

⛵️gentlemanprivates

hhhhhhhhhhh i neeeeeeeed him 🥵

🏝️republicofbirates Follow

he literally just set a man on fire.....

⛵️gentlemanprivates

don't care didn't ask getting his dick tattooed on my leg as we speak

#fucking antis

1,398 notes

🏴‍☠️hoistthemainsail

spotify wrapped is out and my top genre is sea shanties again loool some things never change

2 notes

🍻spanish-jackiez

SPECIAL OFFER - ONE NIGHT ONLY - STEDE BONNET SPECIAL

2 for 1 on nose jar juice

🎸catsarewitches

as well as an EXCLUSIVE SALE on 100% GENUINE commemorative planks, autographs, and Gentleman Pirate tattoos!!

187 notes

🥪rop-snack-shack

fuuuuuuck i wish people would stop dining and dashing. i run a small business and there's a cost of living crisis. i can't afford this

🥪rop-snack-shack

blocking everyone in the notes who is condoning not paying for food btw. i don't care if you're a famous pirate i need to pay my fucking bills

76 notes

🌊keeptheseaclean Follow

smh just fished this up...does anybody know who it belongs to. I want to talk to them about how the ocean is not a dumpster for their crap

⚔️swashbuckled Follow

looks like blackbeard's?? @blackbeard

🎣managainstbeast

not mine mate

👃ilostmynoseatspanishjackiez Follow

forgot to switch to your sideblog? 👀

🎣managainstbeast

blocked

#posts from the fishing boat

55 notes

[unforth]

Alright not to like liveblog my breakdown on main but yesterday was a really bad day after a really bad, like, 4 months, and I've hit a bit of a breaking point and one of the only things in my life that can give is running @mdzsartreblogs , @tgcfartreblogs , @svsssartreblogs , @erhaartreblogs , @tykartreblogs , and @cnovelartreblogs , so that is what has to give. It's been a 99-out-of-100 days thankless job. A small number of people do say thank you and yall I appreciate you so much (HUGE shout-out to the artist I met at Flamecon who gifted me a zine when I said I ran these blogs, @bonesblubs you rock) but I have never done an act of fandom labor simultaneously this labor intensive yet this invisible before and, uh. It sucks. I spend an hour or more a day on this every day, if it's under 2k hours since I started the first of these in September 2020 I'd be shocked. And I do it because I love it but doing it means I don't have time or energy to do other things I love. And I really don't want to just quit, but I can't keep this up.

In a last-ditch effort to try not to just give up, I'm making the following changes:

1. Only watching one tag per fandom for the MXTX fandoms. I am going to check *only* #tgcf, #svsss, and #mdzs. Artwork posted to any other tag, I will not see unless a mutual reblogs it.

2. Reduced tagging (even more). I'm only going to tag characters and maybe overarching au type (eg, "modern au," "fantasy au"). I'll no longer tag creatures. I will continue to tag the same common trigger warnings I already tag.

3. If a work's appearance doesn't make it obvious what it is AND the tags aren't clear, I'm not going to reblog. I can't keep spending 5 minutes or more trying to figure out what I'm even looking at, scared that if I guess wrong the artist will get mad at me for mistagging their work. If I do reblog, I'll tag only the artist name and/or whatever else I can identify for sure.

4. I am no longer going to follow #link click. The fandom is just too big. I've started dreading checking it. If I was more into it and less busy I would make another spin off just for it but neither of those is true. (The art is so good, I hate to do this, but. If you love link click, highly recommend the main tag, lots of great stuff there.)

5. I will no longer tag any non-cnovel content in the art/post. Like, if someone draws, idek, Xie Lian and Marinette from Ladybug, I'm not gonna put any tags for Marinette, just for Xie Lian.

6. Basically if I run into something hard to tag or confusing or unclear, my new policy is I'm not gonna fricken bother.

I think those are everything but idefk, I cried for 3 hours last night and got 4 hours of sleep so I'm mostly fueled by exhaustion and desperation right now and my memory is even more fried than usual.

How artists can help. This is obviously all optional. You do you. But since some people might want to know what would make my life easier, I'm sharing. I'm not claiming I feel entitled to dictate how people fandom or anything like that.

1. Put the tags for the character(s) and ship(s) early in the tag list.

2. If you make art for a fandom that isn't one of the big ones (right now the only big danmei fandoms on tumblr as far as I can tell are the MXTX fandoms and maybe 2ha) I am begging you to use my tracked tag #cnovelartreblogs

3. Do mdzs art? Tag #mdzs. Do tgcf art? Tag #tgcf. Do svsss art? Tag #svsss.

4. Not only artists, but everyone, *please* stop tagging fandoms not discussed and/or depicted in your post. It's gotten to be stupid common for people to blanket the danmei fandom tags with posts only about one fandon (like, svsss-only works also being tagged mdzs and tgcf and 2ha for some damn reason). This isn't about just my sideblogs tbh this is just fandom etiquette that seems to have been forgotten or never learned by many. Tagging unrelated fandoms isn't "reach," it's annoying. People go into the #mdzs tag to see mdzs, not whatever not-mdzs stuff people have decided to tag for ~reach~, and seeing the same post in 8 tags, none of which it's related to, is so damn irritating, and makes scrolling the tags looking for content that IS relevant take that much longer. Knock it off.

Okay. I think that's as much as I'm prepared to meltdown where everyone can see. Thanks in advance everyone for your understanding, and apologies to everyone about to see this 8 times as I reblog it to each sideblog.

At least I'm not tagging it to everywhere. 🤣🤣🤣

[busket]

What… was the finding dory debacle… ?

omg ok it's a riot. funniest and creepiest thing to ever happen to me on tumblr.

in 2018 after seeing finding dory I made a short little review post. I said it was OK, but some parts could have been better, and modern Pixar movies feel more like kids movies whereas older ones feel more general family oriented

pretty bland, right? I got some folks agreeing with me, and some folks asking my opinions on other Pixar movies. I specifically remember someone asking me about Inside Out which I ignored since I haven't seen it. then come The Weird Replies.

very tumblr. feeling a little saucy about this very extreme reaction to me saying I didn't particularly like a children's movie, I made another post and got yet another WILD response from the same person

then came the asks. again from this same guy. this was a few days or a week or two after the finding dory post so id forgotten about it lol. I think after this point I blocked them bc obviously I would

then I got some asks from someone different. note how the username is different but still has the same cadence, like they were generated from the same random username generator. older screenshot so they look different, the bottom ask was posted first, chronologically so read bottom to top:

at this point I'm getting bored of this, but the asks don't stop. in case it wasn't clear, this is the same person, making new sideblogs and sending me CONSTANT messages. I would come home to like, 20 to 50 messages in my inbox, goading me into responding to them and talking to them and to stop ignoring them. now I'm getting creeped out so I just block all that I get. then they start sending me dms on Twitter. ignoring isn't working so finally I respond and say something like "dude you're really creeping me out now. what do you want? what can I do to make you leave me alone?"

their response was that they had sent me the Inside Out ask, and got offended when I didn't answer it. they told me that they just wanted to make a friend online and it was really disheartening to reach out to someone to strike up a conversation and to be ignored. that all they really wanted was to talk to me and be my friend.

I reminded them that they told me I should have gotten mangled and disfigured in the car accident I was in the year prior and that they wished death on my family and why the hell would I ever be friends with them

thankfully they apologized but said "can I just ask that you don't block me anymore I would like another chance to talk to you"

I said no. absolutely not, leave me alone. I blocked them one final time in Twitter and that was the end of it

[picaroroboto]

For the past couple days, I've been unfortunately cursed with thinking about Zenos yae Galvus. I don't even particularly like him - not that I dislike him either, Zenosfuckers you can put your scythes down - but it seems to me like a lot of the fandom either greatly misunderstands him, or doesn't even care to try to understand him, which from an objective standpoint as someone who cares deeply about writing in video games kind of pisses me off. But I'm more pissed about the fact that I'm apparently going to keep thinking about this issue until I actually write a character analysis of him.

Q: "But, what even is there to analyze with him? Isn't he all about wanting to fight the WoL and nothing else?"

Well, you wouldn't be wrong with saying that. That motivation is at the forefront of his character, and even if you look closer, everything about him comes back to either "violence" or "lack of understanding of others". But there are more meaningful sides to his deceptively simple character. That question of meaning is what I really want to look into - what does his character mean, what symbolic or thematic role does he play in this story?

Q: "Better question: why are you posting this on your art blog/Fate meta sideblog?"

Good question, with a stupid answer: I have all of 6 followers on my FF14 sideblog, and around 150 here. Let's go under the cut so they don't have to read a wall of text, unless they want to.

When you look at and compare FF14's villains, you can see a very clear change, no doubts thanks to the change in main writers. ARR Gaius and Thordan are more or less two-bit villains - Gaius's memeable iconic Praetorium speech gives us insight into how fascists try to justify themselves but little into Gaius's actual personality, while all Thordan gets as far as depth of character is an NPC in a sidequest remarking that he wasn't always a bad person and was probably doing what he thought best for his nation. Nidhogg is a little more understandable, since revenge is a relatable motivation to anyone who's been hurt by others. In Stormblood, Zenos and Yotsuyu are both presented as deserving of pity even as they do terrible things. Come Shadowbringers and Endwalker though, the story takes a greater interest on why villains like Emet-Selch and Elidibus do the things they do, and the player is allowed more options to try to understand them and see how similar they are to the WoL. Hell, Hermes and the Endsinger are barely "villains" at all, with the level of sympathy the story shows them.

What I'm getting to here is that Zenos, with half his arc in Stormblood and the rest in Endwalker, is sort of caught in the middle of this shift. He played the role of the rival character in Stormblood really well, but come Endwalker, he's standing on a stage full of heroes and villains with grand causes and deep motivations, as the guy whose sole motivation is fighting for pleasure.

It seems he's not unaware of this contrast himself - when Jullus confronts him for ruining Garlemald for no good reason, he retorts with "Would you be happier had I a good reason?" Zenos makes no attempt to justify his own actions and doesn't care that his reason seems incomprehensible and unforgivable to others. Yet in that same cutscene Alisaie hits him with the fact that if he keeps living solely for pleasure, he'll die alone. When next we see Zenos, he's alone at the Royal Menagerie waxing philosophical about what he really sought in the battle with the WoL.

See, what really motivates Zenos isn't just the thrill of battle - this guy has gotten Battle High and the joy of human connection confused. Really.

Even before he gets so perturbed by the idea of dying alone, there's other suggestions, like his proposal of friendship to the WoL when they fought in Stormblood, and then later his dying words in which he explains that he never understood others - at his core, he's just lonely. I know there's an official side story that tells it, but you don't need to know the exact details to glean that he had some sort of tragic backstory. Sad, but not a surprise, considering he's the prince of the Garlean Empire, raised to take the throne and continue the Empire's legacy of violence.

At his core, he's a very lonely person, but also a thing of violence, raised using violent methods for the purpose of causing more violence. Violence is how he lives and breathes - the only way he gets any sort of connection with others in a world of hurting and being hurt is the brief connection warriors dueling as equals can sometimes find. Don't deny that this sort of connection exists - FF14 is great at making fights that are both fun and tell a story. Hence, why he goes crazy for the WoL, but also refers to them as "friend". In their fights, he senses (or thinks he senses) similarity between him and them. Beneath all the madness is a pure, genuine joy in seeing the self reflected in the other...but he also instantly gets on the train to projection-town, population Zenos, and assumes the WoL is exactly like him, ignoring or failing to notice that they also fight for deeper meanings. The worst part is, he doesn't even notice that what he's actually seeking in fighting them is connection until Alisaie's aforementioned callout.

So he goes and angsts for a while, then turns into a dragon again and flies across the universe to help us kick the Endsinger's tail feathers, then issues his challenge for that duel he'd been longing for. But what's changed is that he starts with a question - "Such pleasures you sought for their own sake, and for no other reason, is that not so?". Dying after the duel, he's full of questions too: "Was your life a gift or a burden? Did you find fulfillment?" Alisaie's suggestion that he'd die alone actually spurred him to realize what he actually sought in the WoL, and now he's asking all these questions in an attempt to, for the first time in his life, genuinely connect with another human being.

The questions aren't important just because they're a sign of how Zenos has changed in Endwalker - they're actually the thematic heart of Endwalker! ARR may have had "Answers" as it's theme, but EW is the expac of questions. Namely the biggest question of all: What is the meaning of life? Different characters have different answers to that, leading to the grand-scale symbolic conflict being the Endsinger's despair - her belief that there is no meaning in life - versus whatever reasons the WoL chooses to live for, left, as always, up to player interpretation.

When you look deeper, Zenos isn't actually as out-of-place in the symbolic conflict as he first seems. His depressed worldview - that metaphor about drowning in a swamp again - seems to align with the Endsinger's view about life being meaningless. But he aids the WoL in defeating her. In that way he serves as part of the answer to her question about the meaning of life. He may have resented life at times, but he still found meaning in chasing pleasure. Not the strongest or most beautiful reason to deny oblivion, perhaps, but it did enable him to help the WoL triumph. I think of Zenos's philosophy as being connected to the concept of "Amor Fati"...largely because this quote explaining it sounds like something he'd say, or at least agree with on some level:

"and if our soul has trembled with happiness and sounded like a harp string just once, all eternity was needed to produce this one event—and in this single moment of affirmation all eternity was called good, redeemed, justified, and affirmed."

So he does have a meaningful role in Endwalker, as the "Amor Fati" against the Endsinger's "Memento Mori". I think that in this the story shows that his reason for living, while somewhat shallow, is not necessarily a morally wrong thing in and of itself (setting aside for a second all the people he hurt in his pursuit of that). It's just that, since it is a lonely pursuit that denies everything except for his target, it still feels empty. The core of the counterargument against the Endsinger's despair is that both pleasure and fulfillment are necessary to live a meaningful life in a meaningless universe, and that's why Zenos is here in Endwalker. Why he even exists in the story in the first place.

Even if you're one of the people who deeply hates Zenos...well, you probably wouldn't have read this whole thing if you did, but I still think it's important to read into characters you dislike, because every character in a story is written for a reason. Plus, trying to understand even their worst enemies is one of the WoL's key traits as of ShB and EW. With his last breaths, Zenos was trying to understand the WoL too - carrying this understanding of him with you as we move into our next adventures is the least you can do for your "friend".

[maraudersthesis]

Hello! I'm 21 years old. I'm an Argentine Communications student. I'm writing my thesis on how fanon is built within fandoms. Please rb to help me reach more people.

I'm looking for a way to get in contact with the legendary MsKingBean89,

in hopes they'll be kind enough to grant me an interview. It'd be (of course) under that username, and I'M NOT GOING TO ASK FOR ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION. All I need is a short interview (could be written, but I'm okay doing it over voice call or any other way they prefer) about the Marauders fandom and the fanon.

This may be a long shot, but it's worth trying.

I've been in the fandom for a while, so when I had to choose a topic for my thesis I knew I had to do something like this. I've always been fascinated by the way the fandom works, how we create all this content we identify as The Marauders™, even though there isn't a lot of canon information about the characters and their story. I love the personalities we've given them, all the symbols we identify them with, and all the relationships we've created.

I'm studying the way people interact on the internet and the colective creation that results of that interaction.

If you want to talk about this, the Marauders or have any suggestions or ideas I'd love to chat!!

Edit: this is a sideblog, so I can't follow back/send asks/like posts, but I'd like to thank anyone who reblogs this: you're helping me get my degree and I appreciate that a lot.

[barcaatthemoon]

Congrats on 1K!! Could you maybe do 64 & 10 from the big prompts list for any player of your choice??

10. "Your job isn't to make sure I make it out alive, not anymore."

64. "You were supposed to love and cherish me."

thank you, it's crazy. i feel like i just started this sideblog a few weeks ago.

bad habits || mary earps x reader ||

you weren't an athlete anymore. you weren't really anything anymore, not yet. there were talks about different directions and options since you decided to retire. for the time being, you had decided to go back home, back to the city where it all began.

manchester wasn't the biggest city that you lived in, but you swore that it was bigger before. there were supposed to be more bars than the one that mary apparently frequented. you couldn't stop yourself from running into her everywhere it seemed. slowly but surely, it was driving you crazy.

"that's gonna kill you one day." you didn't need to look to know that it was mary. she had met your eye inside, leaving you to count down the moments until she came over. mary couldn't stay away from you, not that you fared much better in the long run.

"well, it's not your job to make sure i make it out alive. not anymore, mary," you told her. mary frowned at you as she reached for your hand. you jerked it away, not wanting to hash things out. the breakup had happened over a decade ago, but it was still fresh to you. you had run away to the one place you knew mary would never go, america.

"what happened to you?" mary asked. she knew the same story that the media had gotten, but she could see that you were different. this looked like more than just a divorce and forced retirement. you were smaller, far too thin and frail in mary's opinion.

"i keep falling for assholes, that's what happened," you snapped. mary's face fell, but she didn't argue. mary knew that she had messed up when it came to your relationship. she hadn't loved you the way that you deserved. the worst part was that mary wasn't sure that she'd be able to do anything different if she had a second chance.

"have you got a place in town or are you at your mum's?" mary asked. it was like she knew exactly where this was going. a fight outside, a few drinks in the bar, and then the two of you would be fucking like rabbits until the morning.

"mum's couch, my old room was repurposed. it's fucking embarrassing, but it's my fault i guess. i was supposed to come back home at some point, but we don't always do the things we're supposed to, do we?"

mary stiffened as she looked down at you and asked, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"you were supposed to love and cherish me, but you didn't. i wanted you to fight for me, i fought like hell for you. now, it's all fucked up." you were on the verge of tears and couldn't stop yourself. once again, mary didn't even try to fight you as you hurled insults at her. she took it all on the chin, only going back inside when it became obvious that it wasn't all about her. true to the cycle, six shots later, mary was carrying you out of the bar with her arm wrapped around her waist.

"i couldn't fight for you love, not when you wanted to play with the americans so badly," mary said. you were barely awake, and mary was hopeful that you didn't really hear her. if you knew how much she had fought herself about letting you go, it would have opened a whole new can of worms that mary couldn't handle opening. instead, she'd go through this with you as many times as she had to until one of you finally moved on.